Every imported article has to be marked with its country of origin in a way the ultimate purchaser can see. Miss it and CBP issues a Notice to Mark or Redeliver, Form 4647, and can add a marking duty of 10 percent of the value on top of the regular duty.
What marked actually means
Section 304 of the Tariff Act, 19 USC 1304, requires imported articles to be marked with the English name of the country of origin, in a place the ultimate purchaser will notice, in lettering that is legible, conspicuous, and as permanent as the article allows. That is a higher bar than a sticker on the shipping carton. The carton is not the article. The mark has to be on the article itself, or on its container when the article is sold in that container, and it has to survive to the point of sale.
The definition that trips people up is ultimate purchaser. Under 19 CFR 134.1, that is the last person in the United States who receives the article in the form in which it was imported. If you import finished goods and sell them to a retailer, the retailer is not the ultimate purchaser, the consumer is, and the mark has to reach the consumer. If you import a component that a US manufacturer turns into a different article, the manufacturer is the ultimate purchaser, because the component does not reach a consumer in its imported form.
Some articles are exempt. Goods that cannot be marked, goods marked under a different US law, and certain small items on the J-list in 19 CFR 134.33 do not need a country-of-origin mark. The J-list is narrow and specific. If your product is not on it, assume it needs a mark, and check the list before you assume otherwise.
The notice that starts the clock
When CBP finds unmarked goods, it does not seize them on the spot. It issues a Notice to Mark or Redeliver, Form 4647. The notice tells you what is wrong and gives you a deadline, usually 30 days from the date of entry or examination, to mark the goods or send them back out of the country. The goods can be released to you for marking under bond while you fix it, which is the part that feels like a win and is not. You now have a bonded obligation and a deadline, and the clock is running on a shipment that is already in your warehouse.
The marking itself has to be done under CBP supervision or to CBP's satisfaction. That means documenting the work: photographs of the marked goods, a statement of how many units were marked, and a record of the method. Importers who mark the goods and forget the documentation get a second notice, because CBP has no evidence the work was done. The paperwork proving the fix is part of the fix.
If you cannot mark the goods, the other option on the notice is redelivery: send them back to CBP, or export or destroy them. Redelivery is not a free choice. It has to happen within the time on the notice, and if the goods have already been sold into the market, redelivery is no longer possible and the liquidated damages claim follows instead.
The 10 percent that stacks on top
The marking duty is 10 percent ad valorem, assessed under 19 USC 1304(i) on top of the regular duty. It is not a penalty in the 1592 sense and it does not require CBP to prove you meant to hide anything. It applies because the goods were not marked when they should have been. On a shipment valued at $100,000, that is $10,000 for a missing mark, on top of whatever duty the goods already carry.
The marking duty can be avoided if the goods are marked, exported, or destroyed before liquidation, and the importer certifies the action. That is why the 30-day window matters so much. The notice is not just a demand to fix the goods, it is a window to avoid a duty that is otherwise automatic. Importers who treat the notice as routine correspondence and file it for later are the ones who pay the 10 percent.
Marking before the container leaves the factory
The cheapest place to mark a product is the factory floor, before it is packed. A molded mark, an engraved plate, or a sewn-in label costs almost nothing at the point of manufacture and becomes a project once the goods are in a US warehouse. The importers who never see a Form 4647 are the ones who put the marking requirement in the purchase order, with the exact wording, the placement, and a photograph of an approved sample attached.
That purchase order clause should name the country as it will appear on the product, because the name on the mark has to match the origin CBP recognizes. A product made in Taiwan marked 'Made in China' is not a marking error, it is a misrepresentation, and it brings a different set of problems. Get the origin determination right first, then mark it.
For existing inventory that arrived unmarked, the fix is a marking plan before the next shipment lands: which products, which method, who does the work, and how it is documented. One marking finding on one shipment is a warning. The same finding on the next three shipments is a pattern, and patterns are what get importers flagged for examination on every entry.
Keep reading
Related guides on this site: Section 232 duties on the full customs value of steel and aluminum when a scope ruling changes what an entry covers what the end of de minimis did to low-value import costs More from LandedWatch.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I cannot mark the goods after they arrive?
The notice gives you the option to export or destroy the goods instead of marking them. If neither is possible because the goods were already sold, CBP will claim liquidated damages against your bond instead.
Does the marking duty apply to every article in the shipment?
It applies to the articles that were not properly marked. If only part of a shipment is unmarked, the 10 percent duty is assessed on the value of the unmarked portion, not the whole entry.
What does ultimate purchaser mean for a distributor?
If you sell imported goods to a distributor who resells them unchanged, the distributor is not the ultimate purchaser, the end consumer is. The mark has to be visible to the consumer, not just to the distributor who receives the pallet.
Can a sticker count as a permanent mark?
It depends on the article. A sticker that stays put through normal handling can work on some goods, but on items that are washed, heated, or handled roughly, CBP expects a mark that survives use, such as molding, engraving, or a sewn label. The test is whether the mark is still there when the ultimate purchaser gets the product.
How long do I have to redeliver the goods?
The notice sets the deadline, usually 30 days from entry or examination. You can ask for more time, but the request has to be made before the deadline passes, and CBP is not required to grant it.